Shaving cream



Patented Oct. 6, 1942 snavmc CREAM Latimer D. Myers, Cincinnati, Ohio,assignor Emery Industries, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio, a cor-- poration ofOhio No Drawing. Application December 1, 1938,

Serial N0. 24?,421

Claims. (01. eta-122) This invention relates toimprovements in soaps orcreams which-are intended to produce a lather appropriate for shaving.

One of the purposes of shaving soaps or creams is to produce a lather orfoam which is more suitable for shaving than are ordinary soap lathers.This lather must be abundant very fine, creamy, and firm. It must not bewatery, yet it must quantity of 'water to permit it to remain moist foran appreciable length of time.

As for the cream or soap, itself, it must not become rancid or change incolor when it is stored for a long period of time, and it should carry agloss, commonly termed sheen, which gives it a pearly and glisteningappearance.

Most important, this cream must not be harmful orv irritating to theskin. The ordinary shaving soaps used in the past are composed of ablend of commercial stearic acid soap and cocoanut oil soap, and a smallquantity of free stearic acid. When creams are desired, glycerine andwater are added. Since stearic acid soap produces astiif, heavy lather,but is differently soluble, while cocoanut oil soap produces a very softand abundant lather andis readily soluble, the combination of the twosoaps dissolves readily and makes a lather of the proper consistency.-The free stearic acid prevents excess alkalinity and produces thedesirable sheen. The purpose of glycerine in a shaving cream is tosoften the cream further to improve water solubility and to facilitateits extrusion from the tube-the customary packaging vehicle. Thefollowing is the average formula for such a cream:

Stearic acid soap Cocoanut oil soap 0'-. 13 Glycerine 1'1 Free stearicacid 3- Water N 35 and yet which is capable of producing the type oflather described in the preceding paragraphs.

Per cent be easily soluble and able to hold a large enough .Anotherobjective of the present inventor is to product a shaving soap or cream,possessing the I desired characteristics, which will be stable inrelation to the deteriorating efiects of ageing.

The present inventor has found that by using a major part of palmiticacid soap and a minor part of stearic acid soap and entirely omittingthe cocoanut oil soap or similar soaps, a soap which produces thedesired lather is obtained. The term, "major part of palmitic acid soapmeans that the proportion of palmitic acid is substantia lly in excessof the eutectic proportion ordinarily found in commercial stearic acid.

It is advisable that the ratio of the palmitic acid be not toohigh inorder to obtain the maximum rate of lathering. The preferred ratio ofpalmiticto stearic acid soaps is 60 to BOpart-s palmitic acid soap to 40to 20 parts stearic acid soap. A'70:3( l ratio represents the mixture,composed of these two soaps, which I consider most desirable for shavingsoaps and creams.

The use of a 70:30 mixture of saponified, palmitic and stearic acids,instead of a saponified mixture of commercial stearic acid and cocoanutoil, is advantageous'in other ways. The lather of the soap, in whichthis ratio of acids is found, is fine and creamy and contains more waterthan do ordinary lathers; thus it "does not dry out on -the face asrapidly as do coarse lathers. Moreover, a suitable consistency 10f thecream as manufactured can be maintained even though less glycerin andmore water'b'e used than are used in the present practice in makingshaving creams, without danger of disassociation. The economy, inlarge-scale manufacture, of substituting water for glycerin issubstantial. In order to prevent age from causing discoloration andrancidity, the soap or'cream should be relatively free from unsaturatedfatty acids.

The following is' a suitable formula for a shaving cream which containsthe preferred stearic-palmitic ratio:

. r v a Per cent stearic-palmitic soap Glycerin 10 Water 45 The soap maybe potash soap, but a mixture of potash and soda soaps, 5 to 10 parts ofpotash to improve the "sheen."

The soap of the present invention can be manufactured either as a soapor, preferably, asa cream. If it is manufactured as a soap, it ismoulded into a. shaving stick and packaged appropriately. If it ismanufactured as a cream, it is softened with glycerin and water andpacked in tubes,

Experimentation has proved that the soap or cream containing thespecified palmitic-stearic mixture, glycerin, and water, as disclosed inthis specification, produces a finer, richer lather', is more readilywater soluble, and is capable of holding more Water than are previouslyknown cocoanut oil shaving soaps and creams,-and, most important, it isabsolutely harmless and non irritating to the skin.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1; A shaving composition containing soap of the class of sodium andpotassium soap, which soap consists of substantially 60% to 80% -byweight of saponified palmitic acid and 40% to by weight of saponifiedstearic acid, the said shaving composition being devoid of cpcoanut oilsoaps ,and being characterized by its latherability and by the stabilityof the lather produced from it.

2. A shaving composition containing soap of the class consisting ofsodium and potassium soaps, the said soap portion comprising,substantially 60% to 80% by weight of saponified palmitic acid and 40%to 20% by weight of saponified stearic acid, the said compositionadditionally containing glycerin, and water in quantity substantiallyequal to the soap content.

3. A shaving composition, the saponaceous portion of which comprisessubstantially 60% to 80% by weight of saponified palmitic acid and to20% by weight of a saponified stearic acid, said saponified palmiticacid and saponified stearic acid being soaps of the class consisting ofsodium and potassium soaps, with from approximately 5 to 10 parts byweight of potassium soap being present in said saponaceous portion toeach one part by weight of sodium soap.

4. A shaving cream, the saponaceous portion of which comprisessubstantially to 80% by weight of saponified palmitic acid and 40% to20% by weight of saponified stearic acid, the said saponified palmiticand saponified stearic acids being soaps of the class consisting ofsodium and potassium soaps, with the potassium soap constituting from 5to 10 parts by. weight of the saponaceous portion to each one part byweight of sodium soap, the said shaving cream additionally comprisingglycerin and water.

5. A shaving cream comprising approximately 45% by weight of soap, 45%by weight of water, and 10% by weight of glycerin, the said soap being asoap of the class consisting of sodium and potassium soaps and beingmade up of saponified stearic acid and saponified palmitic acid, with 5to 10 parts by weight of potassium soap being present .in the'soapcomponent to each one part of sodium soap, and with of the soap beingpalmitic acid soap and 30% being stearic acid soap.

- LATIMER D. MYERS.

